By Joshua Cooley
In July 1794, a large federal militia marched into western Pennsylvania to quell a dangerous uprising. The United States of America was only 18 years old, yet it was encountering a serious threat to governmental authority—the Whiskey Rebellion.
Three years earlier, when Congress passed an excise tax on all domestically distilled liquor in an attempt to help the young nation pay off its significant Revolutionary War debts, many farmers refused to pay. Nowhere was the seditious fervor greater than the Pittsburgh area, where 400 dissidents set ablaze the home of the regional tax collection supervisor.
So President George Washington mounted his horse and personally led 12,950 militia members to suppress the revolt. Of the approximately 150 men arrested and tried for treason, two men—John Mitchell and Philip Weigel—were found guilty of the capital offense. But a year later, wanting to balance justice with mercy, Washington granted them amnesty. It was the first presidential pardon in U.S. history.
Over the years, there have been thousands of other presidential pardons for convicted federal criminals—perhaps none more controversial than Andrew Johnson’s pardon of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis (1868) after the Civil War and Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon (1974) following the Watergate scandal.
Showing mercy is radical—and often contentious. Why? Because it’s so foreign to our human nature. Before a young child knows their ABCs, they know how to retaliate…
“Why did you hit your sister?”
“Because she called me Mr. Stinky-Pants!”
When a wrong has been committed, we crave justice—even revenge. No one has to teach us to seek vengeance. Because of our sinful nature, we are hardwired for it from birth. What we need to be taught is how to show mercy.
This is what Jesus did. When the Son of God walked the earth, He spoke often of mercy—and showed it at every opportunity. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the large crowd that those who show mercy are “blessed” (Matthew 5:7)—they will receive mercy in return. Jesus told Peter that the mercy and forgiveness we show others should not have limits (Matthew 18:21–35). Jesus taught that when we love those who hate us, “your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High” (Luke 6:35). After teaching these things, Jesus then extended indescribable mercy to us by sacrificing Himself for our salvation.
Our heavenly Father is exceedingly merciful (Psalm 103:8–10). Through Christ, He has issued an eternal pardon for all our sins against Him—infinitely more wrongs than we will ever experience from others. And He calls us to follow His heart.
Showing mercy is hard for sinners like us—scandalous even. But so is God’s love. It defies human logic—and praise God for that! The thought of God withholding His mercy from us is a terrifying thought indeed.
To truly be like our heavenly Father, we must show mercy to others, just as He has graciously shown it to us.
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